Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose Purtill Financial?
The best reason to choose an investment adviser is to get the highest returns on your investments appropriate to your risk comfort level. Every additional percentage point of portfolio return is critically important to the investor. Over 25 years, each additional percentage point of return adds $85,000 in value to a $300,000 portfolio.When your advisers have years of successful investment management experience and extremely high client retention, that should be a strong signal that you are making the right choice in choosing an advisor.
Our firm's goal is to outperform in terms of investment returns by keeping costs low, choosing the best mutual fund and ETF managers, maintaining highly diversified, value-oriented global portfolios, and adjusting portfolio allocations as market situations change.
Why pay for your services when I can get free advice elsewhere?
There are more than one million Americans working in the investment industry. The large firms have hundreds of thousands of people on their payroll earning six and seven figure compensation. If you are a customer of these firms, you are helping to pay those costs. In fact, you may be paying a lot more than you think you are, because the fees you are paying are not fully disclosed to you.Since most advisors are product salespeople, they are held to a standard of suitability, rather than a fiduciary standard, much in this same way that a used car salesman would be expected not to sell you a vehicle that would not run, but not necessarily sell you the best vehicle available at the lowest price.
Most investment salespeople make their money when you sign their contract for an annuity or agree to purchase commissioned mutual funds or a broad portfolio of new investments. They can quickly make anywhere from 5 to 15% in upfront commissions for selling those investment products to you. They can also make additional annual commissions through 12(b)-1 fees or C mutual funds, both of which can pay them 1% per year in extra commissions. If they sell you an annuity, their upfront commission will run from 6% to 15%, depending on how long the deferred sales charge will run. These commissions and annual fees are paid out of the operating costs of the securities that you buy. Since there are extra costs being paid by the mutual funds or insurance companies, who pay the commissions to the investment salespeople, the returns on their securities will likely be lower.
Many brokers like to sell individual stocks, preferred stocks, individual bond issues, unit investment trusts, separately managed accounts, closed-end mutual funds, mortgage backed securities and a host of other financial products that you may not fully understand. What you should understand is that there are high commission products throughout your portfolio that generate extra profits for the broker, insurance agent, or bank financial rep and for the firm that employs him or her.
You are also paying much higher commissions on trades of individual stocks than you would at a discount broker, where trading fees are usually under $10 per trade. Brokers also can sell securities held in inventory by their firms, which the firm bought at a lower price and you may be buying at a higher price because the firm has been promoting that security to its customers through its large sales force.
Banks and insurance companies also do not charge for investment advice. Their commissioned sales people, known as consultants or advisors, will sell you only those investment products that generate substantial commissions for their firms. Since they do not advise you on your employer plans, such as 401(k)s, you have no assurance that your overall investments provide you a balanced, diversified portfolio.
If you want objective advice concerning the best investments and your overall portfolio, please consider the fee only adviser as your best source of information.
How do I find the right fee only adviser?
Fee only advisers are not all the same. Some do not choose investments themselves. They may hire this out to other individuals for a fee or put their clients only in index funds or ETFs (baskets of securities that match an index, such as the S&P 500), which have average performance by definition. You should seek out a fee only adviser who is personally capable of selecting good investments and has the talent to earn sufficient additional returns to justify their fee.Some fee only advisers specialize in preparing financial plans. If what you need is a good plan that you can implement on your own, choose a fee only adviser who specializes in plan preparation. If you need ongoing investment help, make sure you choose a fee only adviser who is skilled and experienced in asset allocation, portfolio design, choosing investments, active investment management, and in generating above average returns for clients.
Purtill Financial is a professional firm, not a one person operation. Investment advising is our only business. We have multiple full-time professionals and a well equipped office available exclusively to our firm on a 24/7 basis. Our software for investment analysis, portfolio allocation, taxes, and client reporting is first rate.
How can I verify the credentials of an investment adviser?
To check out a financial advisory firm online and determine whether it is legally registered as a fiduciary firm working in the best interest of its clients, go to the SEC website:To find out whether an advisor is a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the nation's leading organization of fee only advisors who meet the highest standards for professional competency, comprehensive financial planning, and fee only compensation, go to the NAPFA website:
To verify that an advisor has met the requirements for the Personal Finance Specialist designation, go to the American Institute of CPAs website: To verify that an advisor has met the requirements for the Personal Finance Specialist designation, go to the American Institute of CPAs website:
To verify that an advisor holds an active Certified Public Accountants license and has successfully completed the rigorous certified public accountants examination, go to the following website and select Accountancy Board in the Division drop-down box:
Who will I work with if I become a client of Purtill Financial?
Don Purtill is the primary contact for all Purtill Financial clients. He manages investment selection, portfolio management, financial planning, and tax preparation.Tom Geraci is in charge of day-to-day account management at Purtill Financial. His responsibilities include investment reporting to clients, client account management, and client follow-up and support. Tom also participates in portfolio management, financial planning, and tax preparation, and helps clients execute trade recommendations.
Mike Purtill specializes in external communications for the firm, but also assists Don and Tom in preparing investment analyses.
What is your client base like?
We have more than 60 client families and more than 100 individuals whose accounts we manage. They tend to be middle aged, although many are in retirement drawing retirement distributions. We also have young professionals as clients.Our specific client niche and expertise is retired and current corporate managers, small business owners, educators, and CPAs. We also have clients who are medical professionals, attorneys, government officials, clergy, media figures, and engineers.
Most of our clients are from Ohio and Florida, although we have clients from other states under the de minimus exception.
n most cases, our clients have between $100,000 and $3 million in investable assets.
What kind of clients qualify to work with your firm?
Our clients are expected to have a sufficient amount of investable assets in order for us to meet mutual fund minimum investment requirements and provide a globally diverse portfolio. Some clients meet this requirement by actively investing in new funds or ETFs over a period of time.Clients need access to the Internet so that they are able to execute trades online through an online broker. We provide assistance to ensure clients are able to do this easily. They must also have an e-mail account where they can receive regular communications from our firm about their investments.
Clients must have realistic expectations about investing in the stock market, understanding that balances move up and down daily, that there are both bull and bear markets, and that it is possible for investments to lose money.
Our clients need to be responsive on a timely basis when we recommend changes in investments. Clients cannot earn the best returns when they do not react in a reasonable timeframe to recommendations.
We always welcome questions and suggestions from our clients. Client feedback helps us continue to improve our business to ensure client satisfaction. We are also happy to work with any client who wishes to have a conservative or aggressive portfolio, as long as they clearly articulate their wishes to us when we meet with them and complete our risk profile questionnaires.
We seek a professional, collegial relationship with clients. We provide them with highly detailed information about the market and individual investments and appreciate client feedback. We recognize that some clients have little interest in investing specifics and we can accommodate them as well as long as they are patient and understanding about what can reasonably be accomplished in a professionally managed investment portfolio.
Our firm is not suited for individuals who want to pick stocks, make daily trades, and micromanage their investments. Such individuals should work with brokerage firms or invest on their own.
Besides the asset management fee, are there any other expenses that could be charged to me as a client?
No. We do not pass through any out-of-pocket expenses, such as long-distance telephone, postage, etc. We have a straightforward fee arrangement with our clients. We bill them only once per quarter, based on their assets at the end of that quarter.Also, we try to choose no transaction fee, no-load mutual funds and low-cost ETFs for our clients. This means that they have no fees related to the brokerage accounts where they hold their investments. The only exception to this is that we do recommend some mutual funds, which have trading fees when the funds are bought or sold. These fees never exceed $24 per trade.
Asset management clients may receive tax preparation and financial plan development for no extra charge.
Are there minimum account sizes for investment management services?
We currently do not have an investment minimum. We have a minimum quarterly fee of $200. We feel that it is most cost-effective for clients if they have approximately $100,000 or more in investable assets. However, we do manage a few smaller client accounts and help them reach cost-effective levels for our fees by recommending savings plans and helping grow their investments.Does Purtill Financial provide legal or insurance advice?
Of course, we are not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice. Where estate planning issues are involved, we will recommend an estate planning attorney. We can also recommend sources to purchase various types of insurance in a cost effective way and provide guidance on types and amounts of insurance. We receive no compensation for any referrals. We are not licensed in insurance.How safe is my money?
Purtill Financial LLC is an advisory firm only. We do not take custody of your assets. We use TD Ameritrade Institutional and Scottrade for all non 401(k) security purchases, including mutual funds, exchange traded funds, money market, etc and also employer accounts, such as 401(k) plans. All funds invested in such accounts are generally covered by large insurance policies protecting you against theft or embezzlement.As with any investment, you are subject to normal stock market risk to the extent that you wish to invest in equities and seek higher returns.
Are you currently accepting new clients?
Yes, we currently have capacity to add one or two new clients each month. Many new clients come to us as referrals from current clients or from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) website. New clients are important to us in helping grow the firm and increase our ability to add more support services for existing clients.We pay no referral fees for new clients and do not spend firm resources on advertising for new clients. We employ no sales staff and do not solicit client business by mail or telephone, other than responding to client inquiries we receive.
How do we get started as clients?
The best way would be to contact our firm is through our contact page or telephone (440-484-5340) to arrange for an initial meeting. We generally meet with clients in our main office near I-271 in Highland Heights, Ohio. We also meet clients in Vermilion, Ohio and Fort Myers Beach, Florida. There is no charge or obligation for an initial meeting for prospective Investment Management clients.Where clients do not live in reasonable proximity to those home offices, we have been able to do client interviews by telephone and exchange documents by e-mail or fax. We are happy to work that way with clients who find that more convenient.
We normally interview a client, gather information about their financial objectives, risk comfort levels, investments, and loans, and then discuss our initial thoughts with them in terms of recommendations for best serving their financial objectives.
If the prospective client wishes to become an investment management client, we ask them to sign a minimum one-year contract and then we would get started with detailed analyses of their financial and investment documents and prepare a plan to get them started. We then work with the client until all investment changes have been accomplished.
We then follow up with monthly progress reports on their consolidated investments and investment performance and recommendations for changes in investments as we go forward.
How specific are your recommendations?
We make specific recommendations on mutual funds, exchange traded funds, stocks, and bonds and identify specific securities and amounts to buy or sell. We want to make it as easy as possible for clients to implement our recommendations and to do that without error. That requires specific recommendations and specific instructions and as much help from us as might be needed by anyone. We don’t think that providing general suggestions would be a useful service to clients.How does your advising work?
We monitor client portfolios each month in terms of returns. Our software updates all client portfolio rebalancing and efficient frontier positions daily. We make rebalancing recommendations on an as needed basis. Usually this happens 2 to 3 times each year. This is part of our regular service. Whenever clients add new monies to their accounts, we automatically do rebalancing in the development of our recommendations.Can you help with other financial questions outside of investments?
We also provide assistance with tax issues, 529 plans, mortgages, Roth IRA conversions, 401(k) rollovers and financial planning in general, executive incentive plans, stock options, and long-term care insurance needs.We routinely receive questions from clients and our clients feel free to e-mail or call us with these questions. Our goal is to give our clients the most appropriate advice in any financial situation. We are not experts in all subjects, but try to answer the client’s questions and never limit the subjects we are willing to talk about. Our staff is experienced in credit cards and mortgages, as well as the normal financial planning subjects.
What is your privacy and confidentiality policy?
All client matters are confidential, as covered in our contract and privacy policy. We do not disclose client information to anyone.Is Purtill Financial a full-time business?
Yes Don and Tom both work full-time in the business. Mike works two days a week at the business. Carly works as needed.How much experience does the firm have in financial planning?
The firm has 12 years of full-time experience in financial planning and investment advisory services and more than 50 years experience in investments.What are the advantages of a CPA-PFS vs. a CFP designation?
The designations are similar. The CPA-PFS is generally more knowledgeable in taxes and the CFP in financial planning per se. Our business plan is to have both designations in our firm. Tom is also a licensed investment advisor and has completed many of the requirements for the CFP designation. Carly is a CPA.Do you have liability insurance?
Yes, we have liability and errors or omissions insurance.Do you receive compensation for referrals to other colleagues or give compensation for referrals to you?
No.Do you specialize in middle-income clients?
No, we have many high income clients, but work with middle income clients as well and enjoy helping people who could otherwise be taken advantage of by commissioned salespeople who call themselves financial advisors.Are you okay with making recommendations and clients doing the work, or do you prefer to assist with plan implementation?
We think that providing good recommendations for a well diversified portfolio is hard work and takes special skills. As for implementing trades, we prefer that clients do that if they are comfortable and competent in doing so. Otherwise, we provide all the help needed to get this done.Do you have patience with client questions and providing explanations to them?
We are very patient and painstaking in working with clients. We are happy to meet with and talk with them and answer their questions.Why did you choose to be independent and fee-only?
We believe that the commission approach to recommending securities is fraught with conflicts of interest that are damaging to the financial health of clients. We would not work in this industry if we could not be independent and free of any influence from Wall Street or brokerage firms or insurance companies. We have seen terrible abuses on the part of these firms, and would not want to be associated with them in any way, shape or form.. Unfortunately, the middle income client is a prime target of these firms and their sales staffs.Can you answer small business questions?
Yes, if they are financially related and within our area of expertise. Usually they are, because we run a small business ourselves. Basically, we answer any questions we are knowledgeable about because we want to excel in service to our clients.What happens after the first year of the client contract?
We have a continuing relationship with clients, and there is no difference between the first year or subsequent years. For all clients, we report to them monthly with the specifics on their investment performance versus industry benchmarks and communicate with them as frequently as they would like. We provide portfolio recommendations as needed. We average about five client contacts each day.How often do you rebalance and is this included in your fees?
We monitor client portfolios each month in terms of returns. Our software updates all client portfolio rebalancing and efficient frontier positions daily. We make rebalancing recommendations on an as needed basis. Usually this happens 2 to 3 times each year. This is part of our regular service. Whenever clients add new monies to their accounts, we automatically do rebalancing in development of our recommendations.What sort of information do you provide about retirement needs?
We will provide an investment goal for retirement along with specific investment plans for types of accounts and specific investments in those accounts that would allow you to achieve your retirement objectives.What if a client doesn’t want to or cannot act on a recommendation?
We are advisors only. It is entirely up to the client if they want to adopt a recommendation. Our role is to provide specific recommendations and give clients alternative ways of meeting their objectives and provide as much help as needed in implementing the recommendations.What else do you consider when evaluating a client?
Current debt situations are part of what we routinely capture in financial plans and counsel clients about, as well as types of insurance held. We review the basics of insurance coverage, estate planning needs, children’s education, etc. to the extent that the client is interested in reviewing those items. Some clients only want investment advice. Others want financial planning guidance as well. We try to help in all areas of interest of our clients.Can I schedule an annual review of my financial situation?
Yes we would like to meet with clients at least once a year. We actively encourage them to visit us and do not limit the number of times that they see us.Do you give feedback on employer 401(k) plans and suggestions for changes?
We think it is important for us to advise on all client investment assets, particularly 401(k) plans, because those investments can be a significant part of the portfolio and it is important to optimize the 401(k) with other investment accounts so that true diversification can be obtained. Most 401(k) plans offer relatively limited diversification opportunities, as well as poor fund choices in many small business plans.Do you include emergency reserve and cash savings numbers in overall asset allocation?
We prefer to keep them separate and often prepare investment plans separately for emergency accounts, versus all other investments.Do you use Morningstar’s general category designation or actual fund composition for calculating asset allocation?
We use software that relies on Morningstar data for all individual holdings within a mutual fund or ETF. We allocate client investments across 19 different investment categories based on Ibbotson historical data based on the underlying holdings of these securities.What is your business continuity plan?
We have a plan in our company policy manual. Basically, it calls for continued investment in training our younger employees in all functions of the firm so that they can eventually take over the company and can perform all client service functions well. All client recommendations are prepared jointly by Don and Tom so that clients can gain the benefit of multiple viewpoints on specific investment categories and securities recommended.